


Luminous Manifestations of the Soul

by Athra (getaway_machine)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Business Man Victor, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Misunderstandings, dancer yuuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2019-11-14 10:57:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18051203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/getaway_machine/pseuds/Athra
Summary: Victor's life is very predictable: he works, he goes home to his dog, he repeats the process. He's bored and uninspired—until the day Yuuri dances into his life with a blinding glow. Victor is so excited to have found his soulmate at last, but will being soulmates be enough?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the [Victuuri Fluff Bang](https://viktuurifluffbang.tumblr.com/), and is completely written. I was lucky enough to be paired with [Twiglightdragon](https://twiglightdragon.tumblr.com/) who has done an INCREDIBLE piece for the end of chapter one. Please make sure you check out her blog!
> 
> I also want to thank [Ren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithiumwords/pseuds/lilithiumwords) and [Elleren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthelobster) who put a lot of energy into supporting this fic for me, and it would be a terrible mess without them. ♥

Everyone knew soulmates weren’t a guarantee. You might never find your soulmate, or find them after you’d already fallen in love with someone else, or find them and decide you only wanted to be the best of friends. Nothing in life was certain, but Victor was a romantic at heart, and he already knew he wanted more. He wanted to see the glow of an aura around a person meant for him and only him, and he wanted to fall in love, to be their most important person, to have someone to share everything with.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Victor drummed his fingers against his thigh. He’d already forgotten the name of the man he and Yakov were meeting, who was droning on incessantly about shipping vessels and partnerships and _blah blah blah_. There was no reason for him to be here. If any of this man’s ideas were profitable, Yakov would take care of it.

He took care of everything and never listened to Victor’s ideas anyway, after all.

Yakov Feltsman essentially owned the ports of St. Petersburg. Most of the docks were under his various businesses, and he had extensive partnerships with those that weren’t. Yakov had been grooming Victor to take over these shipping enterprises for years—or so he said. 

Victor had been interested at first; he had thrown himself into studying the industry at large and Yakov’s ships and docks in particular. As he grew into it, he’d started sharing his ideas on how to expand, how to improve. Yakov wasn’t interested in expansion. _“No sense in ruining what’s working,”_ he always said.

Instead, Victor was forced to sit through monotonous meetings like this one, so Yakov could get him invested in the way things were _now_ , rather than looking to the _future._ It was boring. It was uninspiring.

When the meeting was over, he barely even remembered what had been discussed.

The lecture from Yakov that followed was also to be expected, and Victor had become quite adept at droning him out.

“You could at least pretend to care about this business, Vitya,” Yakov growled at him.

Victor flicked his fingers at him. “Why? I’m just a poster boy, you don’t need my interest for that.” Victor enjoyed the way Yakov’s face would go red, and then almost purple, and he found ample opportunity to attempt to bring the color out.

This time, Yakov didn’t seem to be taking the bait. Pity.

“You’re insufferable,” Yakov growled instead, though there was a lack of true anger behind his voice today. He tossed and envelope down on the table in front of Victor. “This was meant to be a gift, not that you deserve it. Get out of my hair for a while, and come back with your head on straight.”

Blinking, Victor reached for the envelope, and pulled out a ticket to the ballet. There was a troupe touring through St. Petersburg currently, and he had wanted to go, had even mentioned it to Yakov—who had told him it was the busy season and he’d be needed in the offices. When he looked back up in surprise, the old man waved him off before he could even ask his question.

“Maybe if you get it out of your system, you’ll be able to focus on work again.”

Victor beamed, jumping out of his chair and throwing his arms around Yakov’s neck. The old man grunted in irritation, but Victor just squeezed him harder. “Thank you! I’m so excited!”

Yakov grunted again, shoving Victor’s arms off. “Just don’t expect another break anytime soon.”

Victor laughed, too happy to care about Yakov’s surly attitude, and left the conference room with a bounce in his step.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Victor’s good mood continued all the way to his apartment, buoying him along. Yakov hadn’t given him much notice—he needed to change and leave right away in order to make it on time, but that didn’t bother him. He fed and walked Makkachin quickly, giving her a few pats and an extra scoop of food as an apology for the rush. It didn’t take him long to switch to a nicer suit and check that his hair was still perfectly in place.

If anything was a threat to his mood, it was the fact that he had to attend the ballet alone. Victor was determinedly not thinking of that, though, intent on enjoying his evening.

It wasn’t that Victor didn’t have the opportunity to date. He was aware of the way he looked, and he was rich enough that any number of people would be glad to hang off his arm for an evening or two, even on short notice. However, Victor didn’t want just an evening or two—he’d done that for a while, when he was younger. Now, he was determined to find his soulmate, no matter how many times Yakov rolled his eyes and called him a fool.

Still, he’d loved to dance since he was a young child, and he so rarely got to indulge. He would make the most of his night away from responsibilities and boring meetings. With that thought forefront in his mind, he headed out to the ballet.

The Mikhailovsky Theater was beautiful and lavish, and it had been years since Victor had visited. He entered the theater with a true smile on his face, enjoying the ambiance and indulging in a whiskey from the bar before making his way to the box Yakov had reserved for him.

However, his smile froze and dropped from his face as he entered the box and saw Mila Babicheva already seated there.

“Good evening, Mila,” he greeted tightly as he took his seat, and she glanced over with a smile, but also with a roll of her eyes.

“Don’t worry, Victor. I know you aren’t interested, but I wasn’t going to turn down a chance to see the ballet from a private box.”

Victor’s shoulders relaxed by a marginal fraction. “Yakov invited you, I assume?”

She sighed and patted his arm. “He just wants the best for you, you know. _I_ could have told him I’m not the answer, but the old man never listens to anyone.” Victor let the tension he was still holding go as he laughed. Mila smiled back at him, and he found himself grateful that she had no designs on anything more than friendship, allowing him to focus once more on enjoying the ballet, rather than worry about entertaining her and any expectations that might follow. They even enjoyed a few minutes of pleasant conversation, before the lights lowered and the show began.

Victor leaned forward as the dancers began to take the stage and the start the show. The sets and costumes were simple, but the dancing was extravagant, beautiful spins and lifts and emotions being conveyed as the dancers glided across the stage to tell their story. Victor was already caught up in the performance, in the incredible movement happening before him—then, the dancers came together in a circle on the stage, and parted again to reveal a young man preparing to dance a solo.

The stage lit up, the dancer in center stage awash in an aura of colors. Victor gasped, the air punched from his lungs by the dazzling array.

 _His soulmate!_ He was beautiful—he was _blinding_. Victor could barely even see what he looked like amid the colors swirling with his movements, and he felt tears prick his eyes, though he couldn’t remember the last time he had cried.

Victor noticed nothing else the rest of the show. If a gun was put to his head, he wouldn’t be able to tell you what it was about. The dancer had been beautiful, ethereal— _his_. He felt an insistent tugging at his heart, desperate to know the man he’d only seen from afar. When the curtain fell, Victor scrambled to find the program they’d been given, ripping it open and scanning the names.

 _Yuuri Katsuki._ He drank in the name, running his finger over the letters, ignoring the strange look Mila was giving him. She had stood, and was clearly waiting for Victor to escort her out.

Shaking his head and shoving the program in a pocket, Victor stood. “Do you think they allow anyone backstage to meet the dancers?” he asked MIla as he finally led her out of the box.

“No,” she answered simply. “They’re pretty strict about it here, for the safety of the troupe. I guess they had some trouble a few years ago.”

Victor’s shoulders sagged briefly, but he recovered quickly. He made sure Mila got safely to her car, and then turned back to stare at the theater behind him, the lights making the building look almost gold in the dim light of the evening.

His soulmate was _here_ , in St. Petersburg. In this very building. Just out of reach, for now. 

But Victor was resourceful, and determined to find some way to meet him.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First meetings can be very confusing...

Yuuri took deep, steadying breaths. It still felt unreal, to think that he was here in St. Petersburg, in a _real theater_ , on tour with Minako’s troupe, ready to perform a solo for a large audience.

Yuuri had been dancing with Minako since he was small, and had fallen in love with the barre. When she had decided to expand outside of Hasetsu and start a real troupe in Fukuoka, he’d followed her without thinking twice. Though it wasn’t far from home, he didn’t go back often, as he had thrown himself into ballet, wanting to prove that he had _earned_ his spot in the troupe, and wasn’t there just because Minako was fond of him.

The tour was his chance to finally feel like he had done that. He’d done well so far, but really wanted to push himself in St. Petersburg, their last stop. The Mikhailovsky Theater was the largest and most prestigious theater they had been able to book, and though his nerves were jangling, he felt _ready_.

The curtain rose, and Phichit clapped him on the shoulder as he passed him to take the stage, earning a small smile from Yuuri. He watched the first few minutes of the performance, waiting for his cue… and then it was time. Yuuri rushed to his spot at center stage, balancing himself as the dancers around him parted from the circle they had formed to hide his stage entrance, revealing him to the audience for the first time.

Yuuri launched into his solo, his eyes closed as he began, recalling the movements and feeling the music race through him. After a moment he opened his eyes—and immediately stumbled, distracted by a bright glow coming from one of the boxes in the audience.

Internally he grumbled as he spun away, annoyed that someone would be using a flash in a theater such as this. When he turned in that direction again, it was _still there_.

The glow never left, distracting Yuuri anytime his eyes were drawn in that direction, to his extreme irritation.

He got through the show, but it was not exactly the performance of his life, intended to prove how much he deserved the solos he’d been giving. Twice, he fell out of his stance, nearly twisting his ankle.

Yuuri shrugged Phichit off once they had finally dressed down and gotten back to the hotel, not wanting to talk about it.

He should have known he hadn’t deserved those solos.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Yuuri had fallen into bed the previous evening with the desire to crawl into a hole and never come out, so when an insistent pounding started on his hotel door at too-fucking-early in the morning, he groaned and shoved his face harder into the pillow.

“I know you’re in there!” Phichit’s voice carried through the door. “Come on, Yuuri, you promised you’d go sightseeing with me today.”

Knowing his friend wouldn’t leave, Yuuri grumbled as he staggered to his feet and wrenched the door open. “That was before I embarrassed myself in front of the entire city,” he said, petulant.

“It wasn’t _that_ bad.” Phichit shoved Yuuri to the side, forcing his way into the room. “So you stumbled once or twice, who cares?”

“I _fell_.”

It was humiliating. He shouldn’t have been so distracted. He knew he was an average dancer at best; Minako had been more than kind to allow him a solo of any sort, and he couldn’t even do _that_ right. He shouldn’t have been paying attention to the audience at all. He knew better.

“We still got a standing ovation!” Phichit declared, nudging Yuuri out of his thoughts. He sighed when Yuuri’s face stayed stubbornly upset. “We only get a couple of days off while we’re here, right? Please don’t spend them moping.”

Yuuri winced. He would rather spend his free time today moping, truth be told—but that wasn’t fair to Phichit, and he knew it.

“Just give me a few minutes to shower,” he finally said.

Phichit’s face brightened immediately. “Great! I’ll cheer you up for sure, don’t worry.”

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Phichit wasn’t wrong—it was impossible for his joy not to rub off on Yuuri, at least a little. He found himself laughing along with his best friend, taking pictures with and for Phichit, enjoying himself. His performance from the night before was still in the back of his mind, but it didn’t bring down their sightseeing, at least.

Though Yuuri would usually take more time and let himself wander, Phichit wanted to see _everything_. Before he knew it, Yuuri had been dragged through several museums, a small garden, and more shops than he could even imagine wanting to spend money in.

Phichit’s joy was infectious, yes, but also _exhausting_. By the time they finally took a breather to stop at a cafe—well past lunchtime—Yuuri felt sure he couldn’t continue on. 

“The reviews on this place are top notch!” Phichit was saying as Yuuri trudged behind him. “We can sit for a few minutes, and then I wanted to check out—”

Yuuri tuned him out, not wanting to think about how many more things Phichit would want to do. He thought of his bed back in his hotel room with longing. He’d been doing well, but his energy was flagging. Still, he tried to smother that feeling down, not wanting to disappoint Phichit.

He ordered a coffee at the counter, hoping the caffeine would give him a much needed boost, and turned to move out of the way of other customers while he waited on his food. He and Phichit scanned the little cafe for a moment before spotting a table in the corner. Phichit made a beeline towards it, and Yuuri followed—only to run straight into someone coming through the door, spilling his coffee all over their shoes.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed, dropping to the ground and trying to clean the mess with the napkins in his hand.

As he scrambled to mop up the coffee with insufficient napkins, the man kneeled down, reaching out to still Yuuri’s hands with his own. Yuuri finally looked up—and _gasped_.

He was looking into the face of the most handsome man he’d ever seen in his life—and he was _glowing_.

It couldn’t be possible… could it?

There was a loud _thump_ as Yuuri fell backwards, and he quickly scrambled to his feet. Here he was, standing in front of the man who was supposedly his _soulmate_ , making a fool out of himself. He quickly bowed as the other man stood. “I-I’m truly sorry!”

Silence met his apology, and after a long moment he looked up to see the other man’s face set in a frown, almost stunned. The colors swirling around him were beautiful, but with such an unhappy expression on his face, Yuuri drooped. Of course, why wouldn’t he look unhappy? Someone as beautiful as that—and Yuuri was so plain.

Face colored with shame, Yuuri stepped to the side, trying to let the stranger past. He was never meant to have a soulmate anyway, and—

“Wait, please.” There was a grip on Yuuri’s arm, and he looked back over to see the man staring at him intently. “I didn’t expect to find you here. Please, don’t leave?”

“I—I’m here with someone,” Yuuri stuttered out.

If he’d thought the man looked unhappy before, he had been wrong. His whole expression seemed to wilt. “Oh, I see. I apologize for—”

“Yuuri, who is this?” Phichit interrupted, bursting the little bubble Yuuri had imagined around himself and the handsome stranger, and he blushed furiously, realizing they were standing in the doorway of the crowded cafe still.

The man straightened further, posture perfect, and suddenly the melancholy look on his face was wiped away, replaced with a charming smile. “Ah, just a stranger who bumped into your friend,” he said with a chuckle. “I’d be happy to replace that drink for you—Yuuri, was it?”

Yuuri frowned, thrown for a loop by the sudden mood change and feeling out of sorts. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Please, it was my fault. It’s the least I can do.”

“Never say no to a free drink, Yuuri,” Phichit told him with a nudge and a wink. “I’m Phichit,” he introduced himself as they smoothly stepped back in line.

“Victor. Pleasure to meet you,” Victor introduced himself, reaching out to shake Phichit’s hand. For a moment, Yuuri thought he’d shake his as well, but his hand fell away, casually settling in his suit pocket. “Are the two of you around here often?”

Yuuri found his words stolen, and he kept staring at the swirl of colors around the other man as Phichit explained that they were out for a day of enjoying the sights of St. Petersburg. He shoved his hands in his own pockets, wishing he had a scarf or a face mask or something to hide behind.

Victor. The name of his soulmate was Victor, and he was the most handsome man on the planet, with an elegant sweep of silver hair—and probably didn’t see the colors around Yuuri the same way.

Was it possible to have a one-sided soulmate? That would be just his luck. He mumbled his thanks as Victor handed him his replacement coffee, and tried to disappear further into himself when Phichit invited Victor to join them at their table.

“I’m sure Victor is busy—” Yuuri started to say.

“I’d love to,” Victor said at the same time, and then seemed to process what Yuuri had said. “That is, if it’s okay with you?”

He seemed almost tentative, and Yuuri couldn’t say no. “Of course, if you want. You don’t have to spend time with… us.”

Phichit waved that one off himself. “I already grabbed a table,” he said, leading them both over to it. “So, you’re from St. Petersburg?” he asked Victor as they all sat down.

“Yes,” Victor confirmed, though he was looking at Yuuri as he answered. “I’d be happy to show you around, if you wanted,” he continued, not taking his eyes from Yuuri.

“Sure!” Phichit agreed immediately. “Yuuri might be worn out after I dragged him all over the place today, but we were going to go around again tomorrow, right, Yuuri?”

“Um.” Yuuri sank further into his seat. The glimmer around Victor was so distracting, catching his notice even though he was doing his best to keep his eyes averted and his gaze on his fiddling hands. “I guess. I mean, um, yeah, we had talked about sightseeing tomorrow.”

Despite offering, Yuuri couldn’t help but notice that Victor didn’t look terribly pleased about exchanging numbers with Phichit to arrange a time. He must be hoping that his soulmate would be more interesting tomorrow, and Yuuri’s fingers twisted tighter at the thought. He must be so disappointed, and Yuuri would just keep disappointing.

He wanted to be clever and interesting and impressive, but instead he just found himself awkwardly fumbling his way through lunch, until Victor finally excused himself to return to work.

Yuuri hadn’t even asked him a single thing about himself.

As soon as Victor was out of the cafe and out of sight, Yuuri thunked his head down on the table with a low groan. “Phichit, how could you.”

“What?” Phichit nudged him until Yuuri looked up with a glare. “Did you see how he was staring at you? He was totally into you!”

“He wasn’t,” Yuuri mumbled back. “He’s just curious because…” he trailed off. Should he tell Phichit about the glow? How embarrassing, to say you’d seen your soulmate glow and not even had it acknowledged. “Because.”

“Because he thought you were hot.” Phichit rolled his eyes.

He knew from experience Phichit wouldn’t allow him to feel sorry for himself for long if he kept engaging in the conversation. “I’m going to head back to the hotel,” he said, standing up. “What? But it’s so early!”

“Sorry, Phichit, I’m tired.”

He hated the disappointed look on Phichit’s face, almost as much as he hated disappointing the entire troupe with his performance the night before, and almost as much as he hated the idea that his soulmate was disappointed in him.

He shoved the rest of his coffee in the trash on the way out, heading back to the hotel to bury himself in his own pity party, at least for one evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to [Ren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithiumwords/pseuds/lilithiumwords) and [Elleren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthelobster) for their beta work on the whole story, and to [Twiglightdragon](https://twiglightdragon.tumblr.com/) for partnering with me on this bang fic!  
> You can find me on tumblr [here](https://getawaymachine.tumblr.com/).  
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor is still trying to process his first meeting with Yuuri, and getting ready for seeing him again.

Victor had been through the roof after seeing the tell-tale soulmate glow at the ballet, and nothing could bring him down. Not even Yakov had bothered him that morning, his usual gruffness easier to deal with. 

Yakov hadn’t been pleased about the whole soulmate business. While Victor might pity the old man for the fact that his soulmate had left him, that wasn’t going to stop him from dreaming about his own ballet dancer.

Unfortunately, what might stop him was finding out that Yuuri had a _boyfriend_.

Victor had done his best to keep himself together in the cafe, but all he really wanted to do was shake Yuuri and ask him _why_ he hadn’t waited. Was he really happy with Phichit? What about him had made Yuuri want to give up on his soulmate?

He was already three drinks deep at the bar when Christophe found him, moping. He leaned on the bar next to him, taking in the drink with a raised eyebrow. “It’s not like you to be drinking so early, Victor.”

Victor gave him a _look_ and motioned to the bartender for another. Chris _tsked_. “What has you in such a dark place all of a sudden?”

Once his next glass was in hand, Victor took a long swig, before holding the glass out and considering the liquid within. “Have you met your soulmate?”

Chris raised an eyebrow at the question. “No. I didn’t know you were interested,” he winked.

Victor didn’t rise to the bait. “I saw my soulmate last night. Met him again over lunch.”

“What happened?” Chris asked, voice becoming suddenly more serious.

“He’s dating someone else.”

Chris hissed a breath through his teeth, not saying anything. He sat and watched Victor nurse his drink for a long moment. “Did he blow you off?” he finally asked.

“He wants to go sightseeing,” Victor said, shrugging. “The boyfriend in tow.”

“Ouch.”

“Should I have said no?” Victor turned fully towards Chris now, seeking validation in his choices. “Is it stupid to hurt myself by spending time with him and his… his lover?”

Chris sighed, considering how to answer. “Victor, everyone always says you can’t count on your soulmate to be your one true love, you know? Maybe the two of you are meant to be the best of friends. It’s not stupid to want to know him.”

“No, what’s stupid is my romantic notions.” Victor’s tone developed a bite. “It’s what Yakov has been telling me, all these years. You know he tried to set me up with Mila Babicheva, the night I saw Yuuri?”

Chris snorted. “She’s prettier than Georgi, at least. I don’t know what he was thinking with that one.”

Victor finally cracked a smile, painful though it was. “Even for him, that was a stretch, wasn’t it?” He sighed. “I just thought… you know. I thought I would meet my soulmate, and that would be it for me. He’s beautiful, you know? When I saw him, I was so excited. Running into him this afternoon felt like fate. Why couldn’t it have been that easy?”

Chris moved closer, throwing an arm across Victor’s shoulders and pulling him close for a moment. “I _am_ sorry. But you don’t even really know him. Maybe it’s for the best, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Victor agreed, though he didn’t believe it in the slightest.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Victor went to bed that evening with a heavy heart—and if he dampened Makkachin’s fur slightly while cuddling with her as he fell asleep, well, no one would know it but him. He tossed and turned all night, but forced himself up with his alarm anyway.

Victor took his time in the shower, and then took a nice long walk with Makka, jogging around the park. When he finally brought her back home, he pulled out his phone, deliberating over it. “What do you think, girl?” he asked as Makka climbed onto the couch and settled on his lap. “Will it hurt more or less if I try to spend time with him even though he can’t be mine?”

Makka gave a low _borf_ , and Victor rubbed behind your ears. “You’re right. I should still get to know him anyway. Who knows, maybe it’s not really serious between them…”

Victor let himself trail off, knowing he shouldn’t go too far down that path. Before he could twist himself further in knots, he sent a quick text to Phichit.

>> _Do you still want a tour guide today?_

<< _Absolutely! Time and place?_

They fired off a few more texts to each other to settle the details, before Victor finally tossed his phone to the side. He wouldn’t be meeting with them until later in the evening, which left his day relatively empty. He should probably go into the office, before Yakov started screaming again.

With a long-suffering sigh, Victor rolled himself off the couch and made himself get ready for work.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

That evening, Victor found himself silently wondering just what in the hell he was doing, as he waited in front of a local wine bar that he’d suggested to Phichit. Hurting himself. He wished he could have brought Makkachin along, so at least he wouldn’t feel totally alone.

He hadn’t been waiting that long—just long enough to wonder if he should leave—when he heard a soft voice behind him saying, “Hello, Victor.”

He turned to see Yuuri—looking adorable, though slightly hunched—with his hands shoved in his pockets. The glow around him was dimmer, no longer blinding. It seemed to paint Yuuri in soft colors, making him look almost ethereal to Victor’s eyes.

“Hello, Yuuri,” Victor returned with a smile. “Where’s Phichit?”

“He, ah. He wasn’t feeling well? But thought I should still come out. If that’s okay!” Yuuri seemed twitchy, almost nervous, and he offered a slight bow. “I hope you won’t mind showing me around.”

Victor felt his smile growing a bit wider, and tried to control himself. “Well, I’m sorry he’s not feeling well, but I’m glad to spend time with you,” he assured Yuuri, noticing the way his cheeks turned pink at Victor’s words. _Dangerous._ Victor wanted to keep making Yuuri blush; it was adorable.

“I hope you like wine?” he continued, trying to put thoughts of making Yuuri blush out of his mind as he gestured to the bar behind him. “I thought this might be a place you were unlikely to find on a typical tourist checklist.”

At Yuuri’s nod, Victor lead him inside and directed him to a table. The bartop was too crowded and noisy; Victor preferred the relative privacy of a corner. The bar was low-key, with a modern and industrial flair. Victor quickly ordered a flight of wines to taste and share and a cheese array to accompany the wine. They arrived quickly, but Victor was more focused on Yuuri than the tasting before them.

“Are you enjoying your time in St. Petersburg, Yuuri?”

“I suppose.” Victor smiled as Yuuri’s eyes lit up at his first tentative sip of wine. “I haven’t seen much of the city. We’ve been too busy since getting here.”

“That makes sense,” Victor said, laughing slightly when Yuuri quirked a questioning eyebrow at him. “I have to confess something: I saw you perform at the ballet a few evenings ago.”

Yuuri colored immediately, setting down his glass and burying his face in his hands. “You _saw_ … wait, that was _you_ in the audience!” He dropped his hands just as quickly, looking at Victor with wide eyes.

Victor took a quick gulp of wine. If Yuuri had noticed him in the audience, was this his was of acknowledging that he was seeing their soulmate glow as well? He couldn’t imagine any other way Yuuri would have noticed a single audience member in particular out of the crowd.

But Yuuri hadn’t said so directly, and considering his relationship status, Victor didn’t want to do so either.

“You were beautiful,” he finally said instead, side-stepping the more uncomfortable topic. “The way you dance, it’s pure artistry.”

Yuuri looked away again, his mouth taking a significant downturn. “I was terrible,” he argued. “I fell… I can’t believe you saw that.”

“You stumbled once or twice,” Victor agreed with a wave of his hand, as though he were brushing it aside. “As every dancer does at some point. I still couldn’t keep my eyes off of you.”

Yuuri shrugged, and Victor let the topic rest, not wanting to push Yuuri into being uncomfortable around him.

“In any case, I would love to know more about you. What else do you enjoy, Yuuri?”

“Ah, I’m boring,” Yuuri said, self-deprecating. “And I’m at a disadvantage. You know what I do, what do you do?”

“I don’t think dancing ballet is boring at all,” Victor argued. “Now me, I work at a shipping company,” he continued with a wave of his hand. “Mostly pushing papers. I assure you, it’s much less interesting than what you do!”

Yuuri laughed, and Victor was pleased to see him relaxing. “Okay, then tell me something else about you.”

“Are you a dog person?” Victor deflected a question back at Yuuri, beaming when Yuuri nodded an affirmative. “I have a poodle, Makkachin! She’s just the best.” He quickly whipped out his phone, showing Yuuri his selection of favorite photos of Makka.

“I actually have a poodle too,” Yuuri offered a few minutes later, when Victor was slowing down on the pictures. “He’s a toy poodle, though. Here, you can see him,” Yuuri pulled his phone out as well, sharing some photos of his own. 

Victor gasped, leaning close to _coo_ at Yuuri’s phone. “He’s adorable! Much smaller than my Makka.” Together they flipped through a series of photos, eventually going far enough back that they included Yuuri. He looked much younger, and very cute. Victor could feel himself melting—how was it possible for Yuuri to be so perfect? Not only was he a dog person, but to also have a poodle at home…

It was wonderful and painful at the same time. It was easy to imagine how perfect they could be together, in different circumstances.

“I haven’t seen him in quite a while. When we’re not on tour we’re in practices. Our normal theater isn’t so far from home, but it’s still hard to get back when we keep so busy.”

“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see you whenever you’re able to get back,” Victor reassured him, smiling again at the picture of a younger Yuuri holding the small dog. “He must have excellent taste after all, taking after his owner.”

Yuuri blushed again as he put his phone away.

They sat for several hours at that small table, talking. Everything Victor learned of Yuuri just made him admire the other man more. Finally—almost reluctantly—Yuuri told Victor it was getting late for him.

“Oh, of course,” Victor said, sitting back a bit. “You probably have early mornings with your troupe. I’m sorry I didn’t take you anywhere but this bar.”

“No, no, this was wonderful!” Yuuri protested. “I enjoyed not having to run around all day, to be honest. Sometimes Phichit tries to fit too much into a day.”

Victor’s initial happiness at Yuuri enjoying himself deflated immediately at the mention of Phichit. “Well, if you ever need some time to just relax, I’d be happy to spend time with you,” Victor told him with a soft smile, trying not to wince at how desperate he probably sounded. “If you’d like, I’d love to continue talking with you.”

Luckily, Yuuri didn’t seem to read it as desperate at all, as he exchanged numbers with Victor with a smile.

Victor took care of the bill easily, overriding Yuuri’s protest, and led him back out of the small bar. “I can walk you back, if you would like?”

“You don’t have to,” Yuuri said. “It’s not far from here, I’ll be fine.” “Please, it’s no trouble.”

Yuuri hesitated but finally nodded his agreement, and led Victor in the direction of his hotel. They walked in companionable silence, arms occasionally brushing. Victor felt relaxed and—though he barely dared to think it— almost happy.

When they reached Yuuri’s hotel, Victor stopped just inside the lobby, fingers curling at his side as he resisted the urge to reach out and touch Yuuri in some way. “Thank you for spending time with me tonight,” he said instead.

“You, too,” Yuuri said, with that small blush of his that Victor was growing to love. “I hope we can spend more time together, before our tour here is done?”

Victor’s smile was a bit tight around the edges. “Anytime you want, Yuuri.”

Yuuri smiled, nodding at Victor and then turning away to the elevator. Victor watched him go, waiting until long after the elevator had carried Yuuri away. He sighed deeply as he finally stepped back into the St. Petersburg evening.

He took out his phone and shot a quick text to Chris before heading back to his apartment.

>> _I think I’m in love with my soulmate._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to [Ren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithiumwords/pseuds/lilithiumwords) and [Elleren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthelobster) for their beta work on the entire fic, and to [Twiglightdragon](https://twiglightdragon.tumblr.com/) for partnering with me on this bang fic!  
> You can find me on tumblr [here](https://getawaymachine.tumblr.com/).  
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri considers how he's feeling about Victor...

Yuuri intended to fall into bed and wallow about how much he was coming to like Victor, but his wallowing plans were thwarted by finding Phichit waiting for him in his room.

Phichit, who had insisted he had an ‘upset stomach’ and shoved Yuuri out the door and abandoned him to spend time with Victor alone.

Traitor.

“Well?” the traitor asked excitedly the moment Yuuri opened the door. “How was it?”

Yuuri glared at him, groaning as he kicked off his shoes.

“Come on, Yuuri,” Phichit whined at him. “You were gone for hours, it couldn’t have been that bad.”

“Victor is great,” Yuuri grumbled, flopping onto the bed next to Phichit. “He’s funny and smart and stupidly handsome, and he has the second cutest poodle ever.”

Phichit frowned. “So why do you look like someone just punched you in your dreams?”

“Because…” Yuuri’s lips tightened into a thin line. He hadn’t told Phichit about seeing the soulmate glow around Victor—he still didn’t know if he should. He didn’t want his best friend to be even pushier about this.

At the same time… who else was he supposed to talk to? 

“Because he glows,” Yuuri said finally, turning his head away from Phichit’s wide eyes. “But he hasn’t said anything to me about it. I don’t think he’s really interested in me at all. I think he agreed to hang out tonight to see if he changed his mind, but he… he didn’t say anything, and he didn’t try to kiss me, nothing happened.”

Phichit was frowning as he reached out to pull Yuuri into a half hug. “Are you sure? You’re bad at reading the situation sometimes…”

Yuuri shrugged. “It’s what happened. Maybe we can be friends, but…” he trailed off, feeling sorry for himself.

“Did you try bringing up the soulmate thing?”

“Well, no,” Yuuri admitted.

“Why not?”

“He didn’t seem interested, so—”

“Maybe he thinks you don’t seem interested,” Phichit cut him off. “The way he was staring at you in the cafe yesterday, I think you should at least try to talk to him about it.”

Yuuri hesitated for a long moment, before shaking his head. “I don’t know, Phichit. I don’t want to think about it right now.”

“At least text him,” Phichit continued to push. “If he’s really your soulmate, don’t push him out of your life so easily.”

“I’ll think about it,” Yuuri said, voice firm. Phichit took the hint, dropping the topic and leaving Yuuri alone with his thoughts a few minutes later.

Yuuri _did_ think about it as he showered and got ready for bed. He hated to admit it, but Phichit was right—Yuuri had never easily given up on something, and he _didn’t_ want to let Victor fade away. He wanted his soulmate in his life, especially when his soulmate was someone as amazing as Victor was turning out to be. Even if they were only friends, he could be okay with that. He was so busy with the ballet troupe anyway….

Before he could think better of it, he took out his phone and sent a quick text to Victor.

_> >Thank you for spending time with me tonight. I liked getting to know you._

He turned off his phone—to keep himself from staring at it all night—and tried to force himself to sleep. His days off were over, and it would be back to practice and performances the next day. Hopefully it would keep his mind off of Victor.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Yuuri overslept the next morning, flying through his normal routine to get ready for practice on time. Shoving his phone in his pocket, he didn’t even bother to turn it on. Minako _tsked_ at him when he arrived, and he felt his face flush deep crimson as he hurriedly stretched so he could join the rest of the troupe.

Between the practice, shoving in a quick lunch, and preparing for the performance that evening, Yuuri didn’t have a moment to look at his phone at all. It stayed in the back of his mind, but he kept himself focused on dancing.

He had a better performance that evening. Part of him wished he had seen Victor’s glimmer in the audience again—now that he knew that’s what it had been—but the glow wasn’t there. Maybe Victor would have been more proud of him, if he’d seen him on a better performance evening.

Afterwards, dressed down into a pair of sweats, Yuuri sat in the dressing room taking deep breaths. His phone was in his hand, and after a long minute he finally convinced himself to turn it on.

He quickly flicked away the messages from Phichit and Minako wondering why he was late that morning, and the message from Mari wishing him luck for the performance—and then, there it was: a message from Victor. It was sent just a minute after Yuuri’s message the night before, and another one from that morning.

<< _I had a great time!_

<< _Break a leg tonight. Wish I could see you perform again._

He felt himself smiling at his phone as he typed.

>> _I wish you could too. You saw my worst performance yet._

The response was immediate.

<< _I don’t see how that’s true, you were beautiful._

Yuuri flushed, his heart racing. How was it possible that he liked Victor so much already, when he hardly knew him? He knew he was setting himself up to be disappointed; he knew Victor wouldn’t feel the same way, and yet he couldn’t help it.

They kept exchanging texts rapidly, Yuuri smiling and laughing at his phone as each new message came in. Phichit found him that way, asking if he was ready to go back to the hotel.

“Yeah, sorry, I just lost track of time,” Yuuri told him, grabbing his bag and reluctantly pocketing his phone.

Phichit raised an eyebrow at him, but didn’t push. When they arrived back at the hotel, Yuuri begged off a late dinner, claiming he was too tired, and went back to his room to continue his conversation.

>> _Sorry for disappearing, Phichit found me still in the dressing room and dragged me back to the hotel._

There was a long pause and Yuuri frowned, wondering if Victor had gone to sleep when Yuuri had gone silent. It _was_ late. After a minute he sighed, putting his phone down and getting ready for bed. When he picked it up again, there was a new message from Victor after all.

<< _I understand. How is Phichit?_ _Feeling better?_

Yuuri’s brow furrowed; it took him a moment to remember the lie of Phichit being sick as an excuse for him not to join them the evening before. Biting his lip, he wondered if Victor had been disappointed that Phichit hadn’t been there.

>> _He’s fine, it wasn’t serious. He danced tonight, too._

<< _That’s great._

Yuuri watched the three dots dancing on his screen, indicating that Victor was still typing. They stopped a couple times before starting up again. It was a long time before a new message finally appeared.

<< _Can we see each other again before your tour moves on? Both of you, if you want._

Yuuri took a deep breath and reminded himself that Victor had Phichit’s number as well. If he’d rather be talking to him, he could do so easily.

>> _Our schedule is tight, but I’d like that. I can talk to him tomorrow._

<< _Okay. Goodnight, Yuuri._

>> _Goodnight, Victor._

Reminding himself to be happy with just being friends, Yuuri set his phone aside and did his best to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to [Ren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithiumwords/pseuds/lilithiumwords) and [Elleren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthelobster) for their beta work on the entire fic, and to [Twiglightdragon](https://twiglightdragon.tumblr.com/) for partnering with me on this bang fic!  
> You can find me on tumblr [here](https://getawaymachine.tumblr.com/).  
> Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when Victor and Yuuri meet in person again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to have this up on Thursday, so my apologies for being late!
> 
> Thank you very much to everyone who has left a comment, a kudos, or is just silently lurking and reading. I'm glad you're enjoying this story and I appreciate your support! I have to tell you this is probably my favorite chapter, so I hope you enjoy it too 💖

Victor and Yuuri spent several days texting back and forth. Victor didn’t bring up seeing Yuuri again, not wanting to be pushy—and Yuuri didn’t say anything either. Still, at least they were talking, even if Yuuri was often slow to respond with how busy his dancing schedule kept him.

After his evening of pining texts to Chris, Victor had done his best to keep his feelings locked away inside. It was difficult every new conversation with Yuuri expanded that lockbox in his heart. Yuuri was sweet, funny, kind; he was self-deprecating at times, but even that held its own charm. He was everything Victor had dreamt of finding in his soulmate and he knew he couldn’t give Yuuri up, despite the pity he felt emanating from every text Chris sent him. He was determined to be a part of Yuuri’s life, however small a role he would have to play.

He was in the office in the middle of the week, working on dock schedules for the next month, when his phone pinged with a new text. He immediately set his work aside and couldn’t contain his smile when he read the message.

<< _Minako cancelled practice tomorrow afternoon. Would you like to meet before my show?_

>> _Of course!_ _Can I meet you at your hotel?_

After a few more quick texts, they agreed to meet in the morning in the lobby of Yuuri’s hotel. There was no mention of Phichit. Victor hoped that meant it might be just the two of them again.

“Vitya!” he heard Yakov bellow, just as the door to his office swung open. “I have some new manifests that came in for you to—what are you grinning about?”

“I’m going to need tomorrow off,” Victor said by way of answer.

Yakov grunted. “You can’t just take off whenever you please. You have work to do.”

Victor waved a hand airily. “I’ll stay late tonight if I need to, but I’m afraid it can’t be helped.”

“Is this about that boy you met the other night?” Yakov asked, irritation clear in the twitching of his eyebrows.

Victor just smiled.

In truth, he was still upset at Yakov for trying to throw Mila at him at the ballet, and for being so disdainful towards soulmates. He didn’t want to hear about how Yakov was right, nor how he was ridiculous for wanting to find his soulmate so badly. Yakov would want to rub it in that his soulmate had been finding someone else in the meantime, and Victor didn’t have the patience to listen to it.

“Fine,” Yakov grumped, tossing the folder of papers he’d walked in with onto Victor’s desk. “Not like you ever listen to me anyway.” He turned and stormed out of Victor’s office.

Victor settled back into his chair with a sigh. He hadn’t lied to Yakov—he would stay until the work was done, and it would probably be a long night.

It would be worth it, to see Yuuri again.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Victor was up bright and early the next day, despite working late and falling into bed after doing the bare minimum to take care of Makka after work. He had always been a morning person, but it never hurt to have a reason to get out of bed. He and Yuuri had agreed to meet early, since Yuuri still had a performance that evening.

He dressed simply, and knelt down by Makka to attach a lead to her collar. “Do you want to meet Yuuri, girl?” he asked, scruffing her ears with a smile. He may have been a bit more reticent talking to Chris in the past week, but Makka had heard every thought he’d had about Yuuri since meeting him. She panted happily at him, dancing by the door as she waited to go outside. Victor laughed. “I’m excited, too,” he told her.

Victor got her loaded into the car and arrived at Yuuri’s hotel early. Not wanting to come across as too eager, he parked and let Makka roam around in front of the hotel for a while before finally pulling out his phone and letting Yuuri know he was there.

He saw the telltale glimmer in the corner of his eye, turning to see Yuuri standing just outside the doors. Victor would swear he looked even more beautiful than before, and his smile turned on easily as he waved to catch Yuuri’s attention.

Yuuri’s eyes were bright as he walked over to them and knelt down to say hello to Makka, who immediately started licking his face. Yuuri laughed as he Victor tried to hold her steady to no avail, and she jumped right up into Yuuri’s personal space. “Is this Makkachin?” he asked.

“Yes, and she’s usually better behaved,” Victor said, trying to sound scolding, though he couldn’t help but smile at his beloved dog as he did.

“She’s wonderful,” Yuuri protested on her behalf, and Victor’s heart swelled even more.

He knelt down next to them, putting a hand on Makka’s neck as she finally climbed back out of Yuuri’s lap. “She certainly took to you quickly enough.”

“Dogs like me.”

“How could they not?” Victor asked, inordinately pleased at the blush that crept across Yuuri’s cheeks. He cleared his throat, moving past that before he got too caught in up in flirting with Yuuri. “I thought we could walk through the docks today, and Makka loves going there with me.”

“That sounds great,” Yuuri said with a smile as he straightened to stand once again.

“Is Phichit joining us?”

Yuuri’s smile dimmed for the first time since he’d walked out and spotted the poodle. “Uh, no, he… is it okay if it’s just me?”

“Of course it is!” Victor assured him instantly. “I just thought you’d want to spend time with him as well.” Victor could curse himself, but he found the words coming out anyway. He didn’t _want_ Phichit there, but he wanted Yuuri to enjoy his time in St. Petersburg, too.

Yuuri was still frowning, seeming to have shrunk slightly into himself.

“Never mind!” Victor exclaimed, not liking that look on Yuuri at all. “I’m sorry, Yuuri. I would rather spend time with just you, if I’m honest. I just don’t want to keep you from your boyfriend, that’s all.”

Yuuri’s frown took on an entirely different quality. “My… boyfriend?”

Makkachin whined at the distressed feelings coming from the two humans standing by her, and Victor knew exactly how she felt. “I’m sorry. I know you haven’t wanted to talk about—”

“Victor,” Yuuri cut him off. “Phichit isn’t my boyfriend.”

It was like all of the air was punched out of Victor’s lungs, all at once. “What?”

“He’s my best friend, but he’s not… you thought we were dating?!” Yuuri looked almost horrified.

“I… yes?”

Yuuri shook his head, looking more distressed by the moment, while Victor was still feeling shock.

Yuuri was _single_?

He looked around quickly, spotting a bench across the street, a little more out of the way from the bustling sidewalk. Grabbing Yuuri’s hand without thinking, Victor led him to it and pulled him down onto the bench next to him. He ignored Makka for the moment, who flopped at their feet.

“I’m sorry,” Victor said as they settled, turned slightly towards one another. “You two seemed so close, I just assumed.”

“Is that…” Yuuri trailed off, swallowing hard. After a moment of pause, he took a deep breath, looked up from beneath his lashes, and asked: “Is that why you haven’t mentioned the… the glow?” 

Though he was feeling a little bit guilty and a lot stupid, Victor couldn’t help but smile. “You see it too?” he asked softly, instead of answering directly. “When you came out on stage and I saw you dance, you were so bright that I couldn’t look away.”

Yuuri flushed again. “I saw you that night,” he admitted. “I mean, I couldn’t see _you_ , but I saw the glimmer in the audience. It was so distracting. That’s why I fumbled.” “I’m sorry, Yuuri.” “No, don’t be. Running into you the next day… but then you didn’t say anything, and I thought… maybe you were disappointed that it was me. I know I’m—”

“Yuuri,” Victor cut him off, voice stern. “I’m sorry I misunderstood the situation, but I would never be disappointed with you. I’ve just been grateful that you wanted to get to know me, even though I thought you were taken.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, _‘oh’_ ,” Victor teased.

“D-does that mean… that you want…”

This time Yuuri trailed off on his own, but Victor thought he understood anyway. He reached out tentatively, laying his hand over Yuuri’s. “I was happy to be just your friend before, and I still am now, if that’s what you want. I’ll be whatever you want me to be to you, Yuuri.”

Yuuri’s eyes flashed with emotion, and he shook his head vehemently. “I don’t want that,” he insisted. At Victor’s frown, he continued. “I just want you to be Victor. I don’t want you to pretend anything, I want to get to know you as you.”

Victor smiled softly, his heart melting in his chest. “Okay,” he agreed. “I think I can do that.”

Yuuri ducked his head again, and they sat in silence for a few minutes, until Makka got bored and _borf_ ed at them, standing and tugging at her lead.

“Makka,” Victor scolded softly, but there was no real scold behind it and she clearly knew it, since she hopped around trying to encourage play.

“We aren’t entertaining her,” Yuuri said with a laugh.

Victor smiled at him in return. “Would you still like to see the docks, Yuuri? I’d love to show you where I spend most of my time.”

“Yes, please,” Yuuri agreed, standing and motioning for Victor to lead the way.

Victor lead him to where he’d parked, loading Makka into the backseat and then opening the passenger door for Yuuri. There was a skip in his step, and his shoulders felt much lighter as he walked around and settled into his own seat.

He could definitely be himself for Yuuri. He intended to sweep him off his feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the [Victuuri Fluff Bang](https://viktuurifluffbang.tumblr.com/), and is completely written. I was lucky enough to be paired with [Twiglightdragon](https://twiglightdragon.tumblr.com/) who has done an INCREDIBLE piece for the end of chapter one. Please make sure you check out her blog!
> 
> I also want to thank [Ren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithiumwords/pseuds/lilithiumwords) and [Elleren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthelobster) who put a lot of energy into supporting this fic for me, and it would be a terrible mess without them. ♥


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for a first date!

Yuuri was floating on air as Victor drove them towards the docks. He could feel himself smiling and he couldn’t stop. Part of him was still in disbelief at the conversation that had just happened. How could Victor have thought he was dating Phichit? 

He didn’t understand it, but it didn’t matter—the important thing was that he felt much less stifled around Victor now, much less afraid of how he might react to the feelings Yuuri had, steadily growing stronger.

Once they parked, Victor gathered Makka from the backseat as Yuuri let himself out of the car, taking a deep breath of the salty ocean air. It reminded him of home. Victor reached out and took his hand as they started on the short walk, giving him a questioning look. Yuuri smiled brighter, squeezing his hand to let him know it was okay.

Yuuri’s eyes widened as they rounded a corner and the docks came into view. “Wow,” he breathed out. “It’s so much bigger than I expected.”

Victor chuckled. “Yes, the boats are quite large. Yakov owns most of the industrial shipping boats that base out of St. Petersburg. I keep telling him he should expand into the pleasure cruise market as well, but he doesn’t listen to me.”

“Mm. Is that something you think you’ll do, once you take over?”

Victor just shrugged, his expression going distant. “Maybe. Who knows when that might be though. The industrial shipping he’s focused on is profitable, obviously, but the company could afford to add a pleasure cruise line, and it’s much more fun to plan for, don’t you think?”

“I think it sounds exciting, planning something like that.” Yuuri smiled, giving Victor’s hand another quick squeeze. 

“Doesn’t it?” Victor turned towards him, his face breaking out into a grin once more. “I know I’d be good at it. It would take some time to build up, maybe, but that’s all about marketing.” He launched into an explanation of some of his broader ideas, Yuuri listening happily and occasionally asking questions as they continued to talk.

They wandered aimlessly, Victor pointing out various ships and landmarks along the way, all the while never releasing his grip on Yuuri’s hand. Eventually Victor led him into a small sandwich shop, taking a seat out in their patio area where Makka would be welcome.

Near the end of their lunch, Yuuri noticed Victor had gone a bit quiet, his gaze turning contemplative. “Is something wrong?” Yuuri asked him as their waitress cleared their plates away.

Victor started a bit, and shook his head. “No, nothing’s wrong. Sorry, I got caught up in my thoughts there.” “That sounds more like something I would do,” Yuuri said with a smile, nudging Victor lightly with his foot, attempting to lighten the mood once more.

Victor smiled in return, but he still didn’t seem fully behind it. After another moment, he asked, “When does your troupe leave Russia?”

“Oh,” Yuuri frowned, suddenly understanding Victor’s mood. “The end of next week, and we’re due back in Japan. I’m not sure when we’ll tour again…” he trailed off, looking away. He had gotten so caught up in the moment with Victor that morning, there had been no time to consider how little time they would have together.

Victor pressed his lips together, and Yuuri felt a surge of guilt, though he didn’t have a good explanation for it. “I’m sorry, I—”

“No,” Victor cut him off, reaching out to take his hands. “Why should you be sorry? I didn’t mean to bring down the mood. Please. I want to enjoy the time I have with you.”

Yuuri bit his lip, nodding after a moment and allowing the subject to drop. He was so distracted that he barely put up a fuss when Victor insisted on paying the bill.

They drove back to Victor’s apartment first, to drop off Makkachin—who insisted on a long goodbye with her new favorite human—before Victor drove Yuuri back to his hotel. He parked rather than dropping Yuuri off out front, then came around the car to help Yuuri out. 

“Thank you, for spending your day with me today,” Victor said, reaching out to take Yuuri’s hands. He had barely let them go since they’d first arrived at the docks, and Yuuri enjoyed the tactile connection to him.

Yuuri tightened his grip and, quickly before he could lose his nerve, he leaned up and pressed his lips against Victor’s.

There was a moment of shock where Victor was absolutely still—then his hands were up, cupping Yuuri’s face as he kissed him back. Yuuri melted into him, losing himself in Victor for this moment. Having his first kiss with his soulmate in the parking lot of a hotel was probably the least romantic thing he could have imagined, and yet, it was perfect.

Finally Yuuri pulled back, and Victor tipped his forehead against his with a wide smile. “Yuuri…”

“I just,” Yuuri’s voice cracked slightly, and he swallowed, trying to get ahold of himself. “I just… wanted you to know. How I feel about you.”

Victor laughed, light and bright, and kissed Yuuri again before wrapping him in a tight hug. “I’ll miss you tonight,” he whispered into Yuuri’s hair. “When can I see you again?”

Yuuri squeezed into the hug before stepping back. “Tomorrow,” he answered. “I’ll talk to Minako, get my understudy to do the performance.”

Victor frowned. “Yuuri, no. I want to spend time with you, but not at the expense of your dancing.”

Yuuri shook his head. “It’s just one night. Victor, please, I want to spend it with you.”

“How can I argue with that?” Victor gave a small chuckle. “You win. Tomorrow night, then.”

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Yuuri rushed up to his room to grab his bag for the performance that evening, then back down to the lobby to meet Phichit—who immediately noticed his chipper mood and started harassing him for details.

“C’mon, Phichit, we’re late,” Yuuri deflected with a blush, dragging him out of the hotel and down the block to the theater.

Phichit wasn’t one to let up too easily. “Was it like a date? Did you _kiss_?” he asked once they were in their dressing room, putting on their costumes and make-up for the show.

Yuuri didn’t answer, but his blush was apparently answer enough as Phichit squealed, “ _Yes!_ ”

He was thwarted from receiving further details by Minako poking her head in and insisting that they get their asses in gear and out on the stage.

Just before the curtain was set to raise, Yuuri turned to Phichit. “I have one more secret,” he told him, keeping his voice low enough that it wouldn’t carry. When Phichit turned to him with bright, curious eyes, he continued: “Victor’s my soulmate.”

Phichit’s shocked, hissed exclamation of “ _What?!”_ carried Yuuri out onto the stage, and he was able to dance his performance with a brilliant undercurrent of joy throughout the night.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Between the performance, breaking everything down afterwards, and Yuuri meeting with Minako about subbing him out the next evening (easier said than done, but she had a soft spot for Yuuri and gave in eventually), Phichit didn’t have a chance to confront Yuuri about his confession until they were back at the hotel. Yuuri was not at all surprised when Phichit followed him back to his room, pushing his way inside without a care in the world and bouncing on Yuuri’s bed.

“Okay, _spill_. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

“Sorry,” Yuuri said sheepishly. “He never mentioned seeing the glow on me, and I thought he wasn’t interested in pursuing it, so I didn’t want to say anything…”

“So what made you talk to him about it?”

“Well, uh,” Yuuri blushed, thinking back on that morning. “Apparently he thought you and I were dating? So that’s why he hadn’t said anything?”

Phichit was stunned into a rare moment of silence—and then he fell back onto the bed, laughing.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Yuuri said pointedly—even though he saw the amusement in the situation, he was going to hold himself together. “Once we got that cleared up, we talked about it and agreed to just get to know each other.”

Phichit got ahold of himself, sitting up again. “But you did kiss him.”

Yuuri flushed again, and Phichit grinned knowingly. “Yes, okay, I did kiss him,” Yuuri admitted. “But… we’re leaving next week, so I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

That sobered Phichit up as well. “That’s hard,” he agreed. “But, you’re soulmates, right? So you’ll figure something out.”

Yuuri frowned, but didn’t argue. He knew that being soulmates wasn’t the end all and be all of a relationship of any kind, but he didn’t have any answers at the moment, and he didn’t want to drag down his own mood.

After a few more minutes Yuuri banished Phichit from his room, too tired to stay up late gossiping.

He sent a quick text to Victor to let him know he’d gotten the next evening off as promised. Despite all the uncertainties about what a relationship with Victor would look like, he still fell asleep with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the [Victuuri Fluff Bang](https://viktuurifluffbang.tumblr.com/), and is completely written. I was lucky enough to be paired with [Twiglightdragon](https://twiglightdragon.tumblr.com/) who has done an INCREDIBLE piece for the end of chapter one. Please make sure you check out her blog!
> 
> I also want to thank [Ren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithiumwords/pseuds/lilithiumwords) and [Elleren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthelobster) who put a lot of energy into supporting this fic for me, and it would be a terrible mess without them. ♥


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Victor just keep getting closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been nervous about sharing this chapter, but, I hope you enjoy it!

When Yuuri told Victor he’d taken the night off so they could spend the evening together, Victor didn’t even bother trying to argue with Yakov about the continued time off of work—he simply decided not to show up. He had one week left to spend with Yuuri before their tour was over, and he was going to take every second of it that he could get.

He barely slept that evening, tossing and turning as he thought about where he could take Yuuri, how he could continue to impress him. The next morning, he rolled out of bed only a little later than usual, Makkachin nudging him to remember her breakfast and morning walk.

Victor had only just gotten back in from said morning walk, feeling much less than put together, when there was a knock at his door. Frowning, he went to answer it—and gaped in shock. “Yuuri?!”

“Hi, uh.” Yuuri was flushed, not quite meeting Victor’s eyes. “I hope you don’t mind, but you seemed like a morning person, and well… I brought pastries?” he said with a small shrug, holding up a small bag with a logo Victor recognized from a bakery down the street.

“Of course I don’t mind!” Victor swung the door open to let Yuuri in, Makkachin bounding up and greeting Yuuri excitedly while Victor saved the bag of pastries. “Weren’t you performing late though? You should have slept in.”

“I normally do, I just…” Yuuri trailed off, looking away.

Victor wrapped Yuuri in a hug. “I couldn’t wait to see you, either.”

Yuuri relaxed into him, wrapping his arms around Victor’s waist.

“Oh!” Victor exclaimed after a moment, pulling back. “What did you want to do today? I don’t have anything planned, but I could take you to—”

Yuuri cut him off with a wave of his hand. “It’s okay! Actually, um, I was hoping we wouldn’t have to do much today? I’m pretty worn out on sightseeing.”

Victor softened and tugged Yuuri further into his apartment. “Of course,” he agreed. They settled onto the couch, Makkachin draping herself over Yuuri’s legs as they shared breakfast and relaxed together.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Victor and Yuuri spent the day together not doing much of anything at all. They went on a long walk around the nearby park with Makka in the afternoon, but otherwise spent the day being absolutely lazy together. They even chose to order in for dinner. It was the best day Victor had had in a long while.

Spending such a simple, domestic day with Yuuri felt so _right_. As the sky darkened, Victor found himself feeling a bit morose, not wanting the day to end.

“Maybe… I don’t have to leave?” Yuuri said, cheeks flaming, after Victor admitted the way he was feeling.

Victor went still for a long moment, then leaned in, pressing into Yuuri’s personal space. “I’d love for you to stay,” he said. “If you’re sure?”

“Yeah.” Yuuri reached up, curling his fingers into the hair at the base of Victor’s neck. “I’m sure. I don’t know how much more time we’ll have to spend together before I leave, but… I want to spend tonight with you.”

Victor leaned even further into Yuuri’s space, brushing a soft kiss across his lips. “Okay,” he agreed. He smiled, falling back into the couch and pulling Yuuri against his chest with a laugh.

“Hey!” Yuuri protested, laughing as well as he shoved himself back up. “What are you doing?”

“Come back,” Victor said with a pout, pulling Yuuri back down—not that he protested much. “Let’s watch another movie, yeah?”

“But I thought…” Yuuri trailed off, biting his lip. 

Victor could almost see the anxious thought tracing across his features. “I want to be with you,” his tone softened once more on the words. “But let’s just relax. We don’t have to force it right this second, I want to enjoy tonight with you.”

Yuuri softened into him, and Victor put on another movie at random. Truthfully, he didn’t pay any attention to what movie he chose or what was happening on screen. His focus was solely on Yuuri; the way he laughed at something one of the characters did, the way the light from the TV shone across his glasses, the way his hand was absently resting on Victor’s thigh as if it belonged there. The way the soft glow around his features hadn’t faded, the way it was persistent and shining and beautiful, making Victor’s thoughts scream _mine, mine, mine._

He tugged Yuuri tighter against him, running his hand up and down his side. Yuuri’s breath hitched slightly, his eyes flickering over to Victor, and Victor took the opportunity to lean in and brush a kiss against his neck.

“Victor?” Yuuri asked quietly.

Victor silenced him with a kiss across his lips, before leaning over and blocking Yuuri’s view of the TV entirely, trailing his lips across his cheek, down his neck again, pausing on his collarbone. “I’m so happy you’re here with me,” he whispered into Yuuri’s skin.

Yuuri mumbled an agreement, his own hands trailing patterns across Victor’s back.

Victor continued his soft kisses anywhere he could reach, shifting them further until Yuuri was laying fully on the couch, pressed beneath him as he took in his fill.

“Victor,” Yuuri said after some time, pushing lightly on his shoulders. Victor sucked one last kiss just at the top of his collar before pulling back. Yuuri was flushed, his lips red and gorgeous. “Take me to bed?”

Victor grinned, leaning forward to brush his nose against Yuuri’s. “How could I say no?” He stood, offering a hand to help Yuuri up. Together they stumbled like fumbling teenagers to Victor’s bedroom, giggling and stealing kisses as they went.

Once they crossed the doorway, Victor pulled Yuuri tight to his chest, kissing him deeply as he walked them both back towards the bed. He was already lost in the moment, lost in _Yuuri_ , overwhelmed by the depth of emotion he was feeling. His hands fumbled with Yuuri’s shirt, pulling it over his head and allowing Yuuri to do the same with his own before pushing him gently to fall back onto the sheets.

Yuuri shifted back on the bed and Victor climbed on after him, crawling over Yuuri and looking down at him. “You’re beautiful.”

Yuuri flushed deeper, reaching for him rather than replying, and Victor let himself fall into Yuuri’s embrace.

Victor wanted to take his time, wanted to explore every inch of Yuuri’s skin, to find the places that drove him crazy and made him feel incredible. But Yuuri was impatient, tugging Victor ever closer. It didn’t take long before his hands were searching for Victor’s belt buckle, undoing it and pulling it loose from his pants as he ground himself against Victor’s thigh.

“Victor, please,” he moaned, tossing his head back against the pillows.

As if Victor could ever deny him anything. He sat up just enough to reach for Yuuri’s pants, yanking them down his thighs and over his knees and finally throwing them off the bed. He disposed of his own, and his underwear for good measure. Victor was keenly aware of Yuuri’s gaze as he did so, the desire written in his gaze as he licked his lips at the first sight of Victor’s cock.

Victor smirked, taking himself in hand and giving himself a solid stroke, showing off for Yuuri.

Yuuri’s breath came just a bit faster. “You’re a tease,” he murmured, reaching down to rid himself of the boxers Victor had left on him.

“You have no idea,” Victor told him with a laugh—but that laugh caught in his throat as he got his first look at Yuuri, completely bare and spread out on his bed beneath him. Everything paused for a moment as he drank in the sight of Yuuri, glowing and _gorgeous_.

Apparently impatient, Yuuri only waited a moment before reaching out and knocking Victor’s hand away from his cock, taking him in his own hand instead and stroking slowly along the length of him. Victor groaned, falling forward with his forearms on either side of Yuuri’s head.

“Yuuri, Yuuri, Yuuri,” he started chanting his name like a mantra, too lost in the feeling of Yuuri’s hand around him to even be embarrassed about how far gone he was already. After a moment or an eternity, he got ahold of himself just enough to reach a hand between them, circling Yuuri’s cock in return and feeling Yuuri arch under him. “Here, wait…” Victor paused, kissing away Yuuri’s distressed whine before leaning over and digging through the drawer of his bedside table, triumphantly pulling out a bottle of lube.

He spread the liquid over his fingers before setting the bottle aside, leaning back over Yuuri and adjusting until he could take them _both_ in hand. Yuuri made such an incredible noise beneath him as he did, and he dipped down to drink the noises from Yuuri’s lips, thrusting his hips into his own fist, feeling the slide of Yuuri’s cock against his own.

“Victor—Victor, _please_ ,” Yuuri was gasping beneath him, his own hips turning frantic in Victor’s grasp. 

He drove them closer and closer to release, wanting to see Yuuri’s pleasure. “Show me how good you feel, Yuuri,” he encouraged, breathless. He forgot everything he’d ever known about being a good lover and simply stroked their cocks together harder, faster, until Yuuri was coming undone beneath him with a cry of his name.

Victor let him go, pulling his hand quickly over his own cock until he followed, pressing his face desperately into Yuuri’s neck as he came all over his stomach, Yuuri’s arms wrapped around his back and holding him through it.

They lay there, gasping and panting, for a long time, Victor’s arms quivering as he fought to hold himself up and not simply crush Yuuri beneath him.

“Wow,” Yuuri finally said, looking up at Victor with a glowing smile. “You’re incredible.”

Victor laughed softly, leaning down to kiss Yuuri before finally rolling off of him. “I meant to make that better for you, but I got a bit distracted, I’m afraid.”

Yuuri shook his head, sitting up and leaning over to steal more kisses. “That was perfect,” he said, and Victor felt a warmth in his chest at the truth behind the words.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

After cleaning up as Yuuri requested, they had curled up together in Victor’s bed, Victor’s arm thrown over Yuuri’s waist as their legs tangled together. When Victor woke in the morning, it was with the thought that waking with the other man in his arms was what he wanted for the rest of his life.

He tried not to think too hard about that, tried not to remember that Yuuri would soon be leaving Russia. The morning was warm and their closeness from the night before was still filling Victor with such happiness, and he wasn’t ready for the real world to invade. 

He leaned forward instead, brushing kisses across Yuuri’s neck until the other man started to come awake.

“Victor?” came a groggy, still half-asleep voice, pressed against the covers.

“Vitya,” Victor murmured, leaning back and rolling Yuuri towards him. Yuuri looked up at him with still-sleepy, questioning eyes. “Call me Vitya, please,” he elaborated. “It’s like… an endearment.”

Yuuri reached up, laying his palm against Victor’s cheek. “Vitya,” he repeated softly, and Victor turned and pressed a kiss to that palm. “Okay, Vitya,” he agreed.

Victor leaned in, intent on kissing Yuuri silly before he had to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the [Victuuri Fluff Bang](https://viktuurifluffbang.tumblr.com/), and is completely written. I was lucky enough to be paired with [Twiglightdragon](https://twiglightdragon.tumblr.com/) who has done an INCREDIBLE piece for the end of chapter one. Please make sure you check out her blog!
> 
> I also want to thank [Ren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithiumwords/pseuds/lilithiumwords) and [Elleren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthelobster) who put a lot of energy into supporting this fic for me, and it would be a terrible mess without them. ♥


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri's time in St. Petersburg comes to a close...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a posting schedule in mind when I started posting this fic for the bang, but it got kind of messed up because of a family emergency. So these last couple of chapters will be coming out in pretty quick succession... I hope you guys enjoy 💖

The next week passed in a blur for Yuuri. He texted and called Victor in every spare moment he had, but spare moments were hard to come by—between the shows and practices they had left, and the need to sleep _sometimes_ , there just wasn’t enough time. Before he knew it, his time with Victor was basically up.

The best Yuuri could do was to text Victor the night before his last performance in St. Petersburg with a ticket to see his show, front and center. He’d needed to beg Minako—they had been selling out regularly—but she relented eventually. Victor’s surprise and excitement at receiving the ticket were well worth it.

Although he couldn’t see Victor before the performance, he knew as soon as the show started that he was there. This time, the glow in the corner of his eye wasn’t distracting, but comforting, lifting him through the difficult moves of the dance, encouraging him to extend a little further, be a little closer to perfection.

At the end of the show, when everyone was taking their bow, there were tears in Yuuri’s eyes as he caught and held Victor’s gaze in the front row. That performance had been solely for Victor, and it had been the best he’d ever given. He was proud of himself, but it was bittersweet—in the morning the troupe would be leaving St. Petersburg. He would be leaving Victor behind.

Victor’s smile was radiant, shining at him, and Yuuri tried to smile back, but the pride and happiness he’d been feeling just a moment before was already waning.

Back in his dressing room, Yuuri rushed through putting his things away. When he left the theater for the last time with his bag thrown over his shoulder, Victor was outside waiting for him. He dropped his bag to the ground and just let Victor hold him, not caring that they were in the middle of a parking lot in the middle of the night.

“I’m going to miss you,” Victor whispered into his hair, and Yuuri clung tighter.

“It won’t be forever.”

Victor pulled back just enough to look at him, smiling softly and brushing back Yuuri’s hair from his face. “I know it won’t.”

When Yuuri finally made it back to his hotel room, with barely enough time to sleep before his flight, he could still taste Victor’s desperate kisses on his lips.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Life returned to normal for the troupe once they were back in Japan. They only had two days off before practices started once more, and performances were scheduled for the week following. According to Minako, the St. Petersburg show had been successful enough that she was considering booking something the following year in Europe. France, maybe.

The troupe was full of energy and excitement, riding the wave of their success. Yuuri felt disconnected from them. His own energy was low, and his practices were average at best. Minako had to keep calling out corrections to him during practice, things he should have _known_ like breathing at this point.

He texted and called Victor as much as he was able, but the time difference—along with both of their schedules—made it difficult. He couldn’t help but wonder, sometimes, if Victor would bother to continue waiting on him.

It felt as though his life was on pause.

Yuuri sighed to himself as he left practice one afternoon, pulling out his phone to see if Victor had texted. There was a single heart emoji waiting for him, and although he smiled at it, it wasn’t enough. He did some quick math on time zones and realized Victor would be at work already. He put his phone away without responding. He didn’t want to be a distraction.

He had never felt like a distraction in St. Petersburg. Once he and Victor had opened up to each other, it had seemed so easy and natural to be with him. Victor made him feel nervous and giddy, but never out of place. Trying to fit into his life from long distance was completely different. Yuuri had never been good at staying in touch with anyone; not his friends, his family. Why should Victor be any different?

He’d found his soulmate across an ocean, and it was the biggest cosmic joke.

At the end of their first week back, Minako called him into her office after practice. “You’ve been struggling,” she told him, point blank, as he sat across from her. “I’m not sure what’s changed since St. Petersburg, but you’re off balance.”

Yuuri hung his head. She wasn’t wrong. “I’m sorry, Minako.”

She huffed out a breath, studying him. “Is this because of that boy you met? Because boys aren’t worth being this upset over, Yuuri.”

Yuuri flushed. He _really_ didn’t want to be discussing this with her. “It’s not that. Or, not just that. I think… I think I’m really homesick lately. That’s all.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, but Yuuri was starting to understand that his idea of home had shifted.

Minako had no way of knowing that. “You haven’t been home to see your parents since you started here with me,” she said, considering. “Maybe you should go visit?”

Yuuri started. “No, the practices—I couldn’t—”

“Practice will still be here later,” Minako cut him off. “You’re my star, I’m not letting you go. But everyone deserves a vacation, and it might be the change of pace you need to come back refreshed. I’ll tell your mom to expect you for two weeks, and I don’t want to hear an argument from you.”

“Okay,” Yuuri agreed meekly.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Minako didn’t give Yuuri a chance to back out of his forced vacation, and Yuuri found himself on a train to Hasetsu the next day. He’d texted Victor his bewilderment at finding himself heading home for the first time in years. Victor’s responses had been encouraging, and he’d demanded updated photos of Vicchan and Yuuri together.

Talking to Victor was still easy, even with the distance, when Yuuri let it be. It was too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that he was being pushy, putting demands on Victor’s time, but he tried to remind himself that Victor never seemed annoyed; quite the opposite, he was always quick and excited with his responses.

Yuuri let himself relax into his text string with Victor on the trip, but as soon as he found himself in Hasetsu and, finally, in front Yu-topia Katsuki for the first time in so long, his anxiety became a living thing, clawing up his throat.

There was no reason for him to feel this way; his family loved him, they were very proud of him, and had been excited to hear he would be coming home to visit. But anxiety didn’t need a reason, and it had been so _long_.

Taking a deep breath he forced himself through the front door—and all that anxiety left him in a _whoosh_ at the immediate yipping of Vicchan, who bounded into the front room to sniff at his feet. Yuuri laughed, kneeling down to greet his dog. He could barely even pet him, Vicchan was too excited to keep still. “Hey, boy. I missed you, too.”

“Yuuri!” He looked up to see his mom standing there, staring at him with shining eyes. “It’s so good to see you home.”

Yuuri gathered Vicchan into his arms, standing and smiling. “It’s good to see you.”

Hiroko beamed, and Yuuri followed her further in so he could greet his dad and Mari as well.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

It was surprisingly easy to slip back into the routine of the onsen. Though this was a vacation for him, technically, Yuuri couldn’t be at home without pitching in. His favorite thing to do was spend time in the kitchen, preparing meals with his mom. Everything felt easy there, helping to chop vegetables and portion out servings.

On his second day back home, he was in the kitchen helping to clean and wash up, when he found himself admitting to his mom, “I met someone in Russia.” He blushed immediately, not sure where the words had come from.

She hummed, thinking on his admission for a moment. “Is this who you keep texting?” she asked.

“What? I—well, yes,” Yuuri admitted.

“You are on your phone an awful lot.” Hiroko laughed when Yuuri blushed and hung his head. “I don’t mind. It’s not disruptive. Is this a special someone?”

“Yes,” Yuuri said softly, setting down the bowl he’d been drying. “He’s my soulmate.”

Hiroko put down her own dishes then, turning and giving her full attention to her son. “Are you sure?”

Yuuri nodded. “I saw it immediately. And… I think I love him, mom. But, he’s in Russia.”

She tilted her head, considering him. “Is that the only problem?”

“What do you mean?”

Hiroko smiled, reaching out to lay a hand on Yuuri’s cheek. “I’ve missed having you home, but you’ve never been one to be too attached to a place.” Yuuri’s eyes widened, and she patted his cheek softly before dropping her hand. “Tell me about him?” she encouraged, as she picked the dishes back up and began washing once more.

After a moment of stunned silence where Yuuri tried to process her words, he turned back to the dishes as well, telling her about Victor.

Later that evening, when the chores were done, Yuuri was fiddling with his phone, staring at the screen. Finally, he pressed the call button. “Minako? I need to ask you for a favor…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the [Victuuri Fluff Bang](https://viktuurifluffbang.tumblr.com/), and is completely written. I was lucky enough to be paired with [Twiglightdragon](https://twiglightdragon.tumblr.com/) who has done an INCREDIBLE piece for the end of chapter one. Please make sure you check out her blog!
> 
> I also want to thank [Ren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithiumwords/pseuds/lilithiumwords) and [Elleren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthelobster) who put a lot of energy into supporting this fic for me, and it would be a terrible mess without them. ♥


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's about time for that happy ending!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has read, commented, left kudos, or just enjoyed silently. I appreciate it very much 💖
> 
> I have some new ideas in the works, but first it's time to say goodbye to these glowing boys...

When Yuuri returned to Japan, it was like someone had ripped a hole in Victor’s heart. He knew it was ridiculous and over-dramatic to say so—he’d only known Yuuri for a couple of weeks, after all. As Yakov had told him many, many times, just because Yuuri was his soulmate didn’t mean that was it for his romantic future.

Except, for Victor, that _was_ it. And it wasn’t just because Yuuri was his soulmate. As he’d gotten to know him, Yuuri was _fun_ to talk to. His reserved nature made him come across as shy—maybe even a bit aloof—but as Victor cracked through that exterior, he met a man who was funny, kind, and didn’t put up with any bullshit or fakeness on Victor’s part. He was talented and beautiful, and Victor was lost to his feeling for Yuuri; he wouldn’t change that even if he could.

But now Yuuri was half a world away, and it hurt more than he had even imagined.

Victor spent several days ghosting through the office, going through the motions of getting back to his ‘normal life,’ but if it was possible, he felt even more numb than he had before. He and Yuuri continued to text back and forth, but the time difference made it difficult. Yuuri seemed distant, not just in literal miles but in his conversations as well.

It hadn’t been quite a week when Yakov had enough, storming into Victor’s office and slamming several files down onto his desk. “You mixed up these shipments, Vitya. We had to delay both ships to sort them out. This is unlike you.”

Victor didn’t even flinch, just shrugging in the face of Yakov’s anger. “I’ll redo them,” he said, reaching for the files, but Yakov snatched them back.

“Don’t bother,” he snarled. “What is _wrong_ with you this week? After taking several days off last week, I thought you’d be coming back refreshed and ready to work. Maybe I shouldn’t have given you the time off.”

Victor leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing up at Yakov. Though several possible responses ran through his mind, he crushed them all down and forced a smile onto his face. “You’re right. I’m not refreshed at all; I think a longer vacation would be good for me! Thank you, Yakov, for understanding.”

He stood as Yakov went red. “That’s not—!” 

Victor cut him off with a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll text you when to expect me back, yes?”

“Victor,” Yakov’s voice caught him just at the door to his office. “Don’t throw away your future on some boy you barely know.”

Yakov _did_ know Victor well, but always seemed to miss the point. “I’m not throwing away anything. I’m chasing after it.”

He didn’t let Yakov stop him again.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Once Victor made the decision to follow Yuuri, it seemed like the most obvious thing. Of _course_ he should go to Japan and be with Yuuri—why hadn’t he decided that before Yuuri had even left?

He packed quickly, only the essentials. He could hire a company to pack more of his items and ship them later. Though he didn’t typically flaunt his considerable wealth, he made use of it then to ensure that he could quickly and comfortably take Makkachin with him.

Victor didn’t allow himself to pause and wonder if this was foolish, or to wonder about Yuuri’s distance and whether or not he even wanted Victor there. He had spent his life in a fog, learning how to run a business and be the best at something he couldn’t even feel connected with, his heart and creativity stifled. It was time to set that aside and be selfish, just this one time, and tell Yuuri how much he wanted the chance for a life with him.

Yuuri had told him about Hasetsu, the small town he had grown up in, where his parents ran a hot springs and inn, and where Minako still kept a small ballet studio, in addition to the larger studio where the troupe trained together in the city. He had mentioned wanting to visit his parents when he went back to Japan. Armed with this knowledge, it didn’t take Victor long to figure out where to go.

It was early morning by the time Victor found his way to the doors of Yu-topia Katsuki. He had been travelling for so long through the unfamiliar country, he wasn’t sure he’d ever been more exhausted. At the same time, he was incredibly excited to see Yuuri once again.

He leaned down on the stoop before going in, ruffling Makka’s ears. She was tired too, but she was such a trooper and had done very well during the whirlwind of the last day. “We’re going to see Yuuri again soon, girl,” he whispered to her, stalling before heading inside.

He took a deep breath, straightening back up and leading her inside the inn. Time to chase his future.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

When Victor introduced himself and explained that he was there looking for Yuuri, Hiroko—Yuuri’s mother, he learned—had seemed delighted, though Victor couldn’t honestly tell if she understood his intentions. Still, her happiness was infectious, and Victor was smiling along with her as she led him further into the inn, telling him that Yuuri was still sleeping but he should make himself at home.

Before he even quite understood what was happening, he found himself washed and sinking into the hot springs for the first time—and what an experience _that_ was! If this was how Yuuri had grown up, he couldn’t see how he’d ever given it up. 

He let himself relax back into the water, his muscles releasing tension he hadn’t even been aware he was carrying. He wasn’t sure how long he had been relaxing there when he heard a commotion coming from within the end, Makkachin’s happy bark ringing through the space. He looked up in time to see Yuuri rushing out through the doors. Victor stood immediately, smirking at the flush spreading over Yuuri’s cheeks.

“Vitya?! What are you doing here?!”

“I’m here for you, Yuuri. I want to give us a chance—a _real_ chance.”

“But… okay, okay, get dressed please, so we can talk about this!”

Victor pouted a little at Yuuri’s response, not nearly as welcoming as he might have hoped. Still, he did as Yuuri asked, stepping out and towelling off. Once he was dressed in one of the inn's green yukatas and sitting inside with Yuuri, he felt much more nervous than he had expected.

“Is it okay that I’m here?” he asked once they were settled, subdued.

Yuuri immediately reached out, taking Victor’s hands in his own. “Of course it is. I’m just… surprised. I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

Victor squeezed, a small smile returning to his face. “I missed you. I just wanted you to know, that if you want me, I’m all in. I can have everything packed up and moved to Japan in no time.”

“Well that would be a little awkward,” Yuuri said with a smile of his own. “Since I’ll be living in St. Petersburg next year.”

Victor blinked, and blinked again. “Since you’ll… what?”

Yuuri laughed, leaning in to steal a kiss. Victor brought a hand up to cup his cheek, leaning into the kiss for a moment before pulling back. “Seriously, Yuuri, what do you mean? What about your troupe?”

“When I got back to Japan, I realized that you’re the only thing I’ve ever had that I really wanted to hold onto,” Yuuri told him, causing Victor’s to constrict almost painfully. “So I wondered what I was even doing in Japan. I talked to Minako about it a couple of days ago, and she got in touch with Lilia Baranovskaya, an incredible ballerina in Russia. It turns out Lilia saw one of my performances in St. Petersburg, and she agreed to give me a chance next season with the Mariinsky Ballet.”

“Wow,” Victor whispered out, stunned. “Wow. I can’t believe you changed your whole life around to move to Russia?”

“I thought it would be romantic,” Yuuri said with a wry smile. “But I guess you showed me up, huh? Were you really going to move Japan? What would you even _do_ here?”

Victor shrugged. He hadn’t really thought about that. “I don’t know. I would have figured it out. I just wanted to be near you.”

Yuuri leaned into Victor, and Victor wrapped an arm around him, content to sit quietly with Yuuri in his arms.

“Vitya,” Yuuri broke the silence after a few minutes. “When you told me about wanting to expand into pleasure cruises, did you mean it?”

“Yes,” he answered immediately.

“So, why don’t you do that?”

“I told you—”

“No, I know. I mean, why don’t _you_ do that? Start your own company?”

Victor started. Somehow, he had never considered that before. “I don’t know… it would take a lot…”

Yuuri sat up, turning towards him again. “But you want to, right? I don’t want you to give up your entire life to move to Japan for nothing. I wanted to move to Russia to be with you, of course, but the Mariinsky Ballet is also a great opportunity for me. If you really want to move to Japan, I’ll stay with my troupe, but… think about it?”

Victor lifted Yuuri’s hand, brushing a kiss over his knuckles, and then leaned in to press another against his forehead. “How did I get so lucky?”

Yuuri just laughed, stealing a kiss from his lips instead.

“Okay,” Victor said, once he finally pulled back from Yuuri’s kisses. “You’re right, I’m going to go for it.”

Yuuri lit up. “Really? You mean it?”

Victor gave Yuuri’s waist a squeeze. “As long as you’re there to support me through it.”

“Of course.” Yuuri softened into Victor’s arms, his smile bright.

“Let’s spend a few months in Japan first, though. You said you’re not starting until the next season, right?”

“Yeah. Yes.” Yuuri’s smile turned even brighter, and he stood, reaching out for Victor’s hand to pull him up as well. “Come on, let’s tell my family you’re going to be here for a while.” 

Victor followed him gladly, but Yuuri paused before they made it out of the room, turning and cupping Victor’s face in his hands, wearing a look of intense concentration. “I love you.”

He said it with such ease, and Victor’s heart nearly beat out of his chest, his grin overtaking and lighting up his features. “I love you, too. So much, Yuuri.” Victor caught Yuuri around the waist, tugging him close and leading him into a slight dip before kissing him soundly.

Yuuri laughed into the kiss, his joy bubbling from him, and Victor responded in kind, surrendering himself to Yuuri’s laughter, his kisses, and his love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the [Victuuri Fluff Bang](https://viktuurifluffbang.tumblr.com/), and is completely written. I was lucky enough to be paired with [Twiglightdragon](https://twiglightdragon.tumblr.com/) who has done an INCREDIBLE piece for the end of chapter one. Please make sure you check out her blog!
> 
> I also want to thank [Ren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithiumwords/pseuds/lilithiumwords) and [Elleren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthelobster) who put a lot of energy into supporting this fic for me, and it would be a terrible mess without them. ♥


End file.
